Super Long Blog about Christmas in Mozambique

This was our third Christmas in Mozambique...and like the last two we especially missed family and friends and the cooler weather during the holidays. However, the Lord also gave us a neat time with new friends and co-workers here in Mozambique and the season was special for us despite the distance from home and the ever-present heat.

We kept really busy this December with work/ministy as well as finding ways to prepare for and celebrate the season with our boys. Cohen is just at the age now where he is beginning to understand the Christmas story and the various ways we celebrate Christ's coming. He is also beginning to understand more about sharing and giving and we had several opportunities to express that this year. One day we took the boys out to an orphanage on the outskirts of town and spent the morning making Christmas decorations with the kids. We had several Christmas gatherings with friends and co-workers over at our house both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--which the boys seemed to love.

We also had an interesting (but typical) cultural experience in giving some gifts to our guards and maid. We employ two men who trade off guarding our house during the night hours and one woman who helps out around the house. In thinking of what we wanted to share with them, we decided to put together some large boxes of food to give to them and their families as gifts. Saving and planning ahead is not as important in this culture as it is in ours, so often, by the end of the month of December as in other months, many families here are low on charcoal (for cooking their food) and low on even the basics...which makes it difficult for them to have a good meal during their holidays or to really celebrate with their extended families who all flock in from their small farms to spend Christmas in the city. Because of this, we wanted our gift to them to be a practical help...but also somewhat special. So the boys and Stefan and I did some shopping and bought some staples like beans and rice, as well as some special "treats"--sugar, drink mixes, cookies, and some candy for the children. We wrapped up the boxes and put bright red bows on them. You have to understand that exchanging gifts for most Mozambicans--who are extremely poor--is just not something typical--especially not going all out and wrapping with paper and bows. We really wanted this to be something special--an expression of kindness and blessing that flows from our own gratititude to the Lord who so generously blesses us!

So the day came to give out the gifts and...Well, I don't know exactly what we were expecting.... We have lived in Mozambique for over two years now and are somewhat familiar with certain aspects of the culture that are so foreign to our own Western culture...Anyway, let's just say the gifts were not received in a manner we would have expected after putting so much thought, effort, and resources into them. Our maid accepted her box without so much as a smile or a thank you and went on her way...very much as if she had expected to receive that or more. The response of one of the guards, though, was so completely shocking that I'm glad it was Stefan who had the experience instead of me! When Stefan gave him his gift and the man looked through it, his response was...not "thank you," but "Where's the oil?" Apparently, he felt that if we gave him beans to cook, we should also have given him oil to cook them with.

!?!?!?!?!

Here's the thing, no matter how good our intentions are...no matter how much we truly desire give someone a gift for THEIR sake--as an expression of kindness and love to them, there is something that we from our own culture just naturally expect or anticipate as a part of that exchange--some form of thanks or gratitude. But alas, as we found out this Christmas, that was just not to be...and somehow as with so many aspects of a culture so different from our own, we have to be able to get past that--get past the things that frustrate or annoy us about a culture to truly love the person that God does and that He so sacrificially sent His son to redeem.

We were able to celebrate in some ways that reminded us of home, though, and that were special for our family. The following are some pictures from our Christmas Morning with the boys.

We made a special big breakfast to celebrate the day. We found special treats at a local store that imports things from South Africa such as sausage (not typical in this heavily Muslim area), sparkling grape juice, plumbs, and even grapes!

Here is Christian getting ready to snitch a grape before breakfast...

Cohen and Christian shared a box of chocolate milk...also very hard to find around here!

After breakfast Stefan told the Christmas Story to the boys and talked about different traditions that we associate with celebrating Christ's birth.

Different friends and family had sent some gifts gift/money that we used to buy the boys some presents. This was the first year here that we actually had a Christmas tree--something we also found imported from South Africa. Before opening each gift, we talked about the person who had sent it.

Legos from some friends in the States were a big hit!

Hugs for the boys!

We knew the boys had some gift money coming their way, so in the months before Christmas, Stefan began his search for a bike with training wheels for Cohen. Although he's only 3 and a half years old, he is kind of tall and we thought he would be able to enjoy a bike already. We had him cover his eyes as Stefan brought it out...it was SO fun to watch his expression when he realized that this was for him!

Christian enjoyed the gift too, since the bike came with a seat at the back for a "passenger"!

We were truly blessed this Christmas despite missing home!

Weekend at the Coast

We took the boys to the coast on Saturday and spent the night. It was great to get away for a while--the boys enjoyed playing in the sand and water and we enjoyed the break from work and normal routine.

Lowes Project

While we were back in the States for a couple of months this summer, our friends Casey and his son Canaan introduced Stefan and Cohen to the projects for kids at Lowes. Cohen loved it! Then as we were preparing to leave, Casey threw in an extra kit he had picked up one Saturday for Cohen and Stefan to work on. This past week they finally got it out to work on.

After much concentration and examination of the work plans, they got to work. About a half hour later (and several yelps followed by bruised fingers--mostly Daddy's), Cohen proudly showed me his "measuring tape" that he had constructed.

Thanks Casey and Canaan!

Life in Africa...still just "life"

I was thinking the other day about life in Africa and in Mozambique and how very different it is from where we grew up in Brazil or where we spent many happy years in Kentucky. At the same time, though, there are many things about life that are pretty much just the same everywhere. Here are some pictures of just regular "life" for us here in Mozambique.

Making cookies with two little boys...



Horsing around outside...


Helping Mommy make supper...

Waiting for Daddy to get home from work...

Wrestling with Daddy...

Calling up Grandpa and Grandma (on skype)...

I kind of think that we would be doing all these same things no matter where we lived. It's fun to think of it that way, at least...makes things a little easier sometimes.

"Hilaria"

pronounced "Ee-la-dee-ah"

We wanted to introduce you to Hilaria, the new "empregada" who helps us out around the house. As many of you know, she is a real answer to our prayers because we were looking for a lady rather than the typical male help.

Hilaria has been working with us about a month and as you can imagine, it takes a lot of adjustments on both sides to work so closely with someone when we both have such different cultures and backgrounds. Hilaria is a very simple lady and hasn't had a lot of exposure to western culture or how a "foreigner" lives, eats, cares for children, and...cleans. We've had quite some interesting experiences as it regards to that... She is illiterate and only understands simple math so sending her to the market for groceries can also be a challenge. She is really sweet with the kids, though, which is so important to us.

Her "story" is very similar to so many other Mozambican women in this area. Her husband left her several years ago and she now lives with and cares for her eight-year-old nephew in a small shack toward the edge of town. They typically eat "xima" for lunch and supper--a sort of porridge made out of ground corn. And like many Mozambicans, she likes what she describes as "heavy" food (i.e. anything starchy) and so she gives me funny looks when I always add fruit and salad to her plate at lunch :).

I really enjoy talking with her throughout the day as we work together and I especially enjoy hearing about her family and learning about her culture and world view. However, it can be REALLY challenging when she wants to know about us and where we come from...trying to explain snow to someone who barely understands ice...trying to describe America to someone without any frame of reference for geography...discussing my values and my parenting to someone whose concept of "church" seems to be mostly loud music, an entitiy who takes her money (through tithe) and who apparently doesn't even open the Bible, let alone teach from it.

Relationships between workers and their employers here in Mozambique are also very complicated by money. Aside from paying a regular salary and providing food, the employer can become the worker's "lifeline" in every sense of the word and be depended on and expected to pay for everything from her uncle's-cousin's hospital stay, to her latrine that doesn't work, to her nephew's school bribe to...well, the possibilities (and realities) are endless. And in the midst of this we are trying to teach and encourage saving (which is completely counter-cultural), planning (which has little value in a subsistence-based life), responsibility (which means something so different between our two cultures), and independence (which goes against her very understanding of our relationship!) And somehow, in all this we want to convey God's love for her...which is easily hidden if the employee feels we are being stingy with our (apparently) limitless resourses.

Complicated, complicated!

We are very thankful for her part in our lives here in Nampula and look forward to expressing who God is through our interactions with her.

Chocas Mar: At the Cabin

We had a beautiful view of the ocean from the cabin we shared with our friends.

On Sunday it was really neat to get together with everyone to sing a bit with our kids and just talk about what the Lord had been teaching us recently. What a special thing!--to share our families and our faith and worship ON VACATION with our co-workers. It was a neat reminder of how the body of Christ can function.

Chocas Mar: Football on the Beach

Stefan and Christian played some football on the beach...

Chocas Mar: A Weekend at the Beach

The first weekend in September we went with some friends/co-workers to the coast--about a 2 and a half hour drive from Nampula--at Chocas Mar. It was beautiful and relaxing...sort of...when we weren't running around after two little boys full of energy. But it WAS beautiful.


It was fun to be there with the three other families and get to know our co-workers outside of "work." The boys are really loving all the opportunities they've had to interact with other kids since arriving in Nampula.


Cohen went for a ride in a kayak. Notice the ever-so-cool goggles. Once he found them in his previously hidden stash of "beach toys," he insisted on wearing them pretty much the remainder of the weekend.


And then after his adventure on the high seas, he got sort of cold and sat out for the next few hours...

trip to the farm

Yesterday the boys and I drove about a half hour outside of Nampula to the farm of some friends from Zimbabwe. We met up with friends (also with toddlers and pre-schoolers) for a "sports day." The boys had fun throwing balls around, jumping on a trampoline, and figuring out the obstacle course. Cohen, however, was most interested in the horses. He is typically a cautious boy and judging by the way he was initially hesitant to join in the fun with the other sports, I was so surprised by his enthusiasm for the horses. But he absolutely loved it!

It was so fun to be out of the city for a few hours--and to be in the "country" (or Africa's version of it) and to be near animals again. And it was especially fun to watch Cohen enjoy horses the way he did.

Neighbor's yard: As seen from our Veranda

One of the neat things about our apartment is that it has breezy veranda that extends out from our living room. The boys love it out there and Christian is particularly entertained with the view we have of our neighbors and their yard.



And when I say "entertained," I mean he literally pulls up a chair and sits there watching all that is happening in their yard! Because our neighbor's yard is filled with:

Ducks and chickens and roosters and Guinea hens and...

turkeys! I think they fascinate him so much because at night he is so freaked out by them. They all make such a ruccous at night (especially when they get in fights with dogs) and since Cohen's and Christian's bedroom window opens up right into the neighbor's yard, they get an earful. Usually the first thing Christian does when we walk into his room in the morning is point toward the window animatedly trying to sound out "turkey" and "duck" and "chick chick" and "doggy."

So naturally he finds it interesting to actually watch these animals who make all the noise outside his window all day and night.

peanut butter

Since arriving in Nampula, Jose (the "empregado"--house help--of the family who previously lived in our house) has been helping us out as we look for an "empregada"(female house help). It seems to be pretty difficult to find a female empregada up here for various cultural reasons and the norm is definitely for men to be in these positions--they do everything from washing laundry to running errands to serving as a sort of security guard. Although it has definitely been a cultural adjustment for me (Sharon) to get used to having him around the house throughout these past weeks, we have been thankful for his help.

The other day, I asked him to show me how to make peanut butter in the traditional Mozambican way. Cohen was in dreamland that afternoon but Christian got in on the fun.

After roasting 2 kg of peanuts, Jose rubbed the peanuts together to get the peels loose.

Christian also helped.

Then, using a "peneira" (a woven reed basket/sifter), Jose repeatedly tossed the peanuts into the air and the wind blew away the peels.

Next, he emptied the peanuts into the "pilao" (large wooden mortar).

It took about 15 minutes of strenuous pounding to grind the peanuts, occasionally separating the fine grounds from the large pieces with the "peneira" again.

Finally, the peanuts were ground into small pieces and the natural oils began to make them creamy. Later I added a sprinkle of sugar and pinch of salt and we now have 2 kg of crunchy peanut butter!

Christian, what are you doing with the peneira?

And hey! That's peanut butter in your hair!